PLAY DESIGN

SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY

Working with New York City's School Construction Authority's (SCA) on more than 20 public schools, MKM is dedicated to designing safe, environmentally sustainable and attractive school play spaces.

PLANYC: Schoolyards to Playgrounds

Modeled after the success of the Trust for Public Land program MKM helped found, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg launched the first phase of “The Schoolyards to Playgrounds” initiative in 2007. Since the beginning of the program MKM has been actively involved. Between 2007 - 2012, MKM designed and provided consulting services for the conversion of over thirty schoolyards to playgrounds in Queens under a mayor’s directive to provide open recreational space to all NYC residents within a ten minute walk of their residence. After school hours, the schoolyards are open to neighborhood residents. While designing playgrounds, MKM addresses sustainability, promotes water efficiency, reuse and incorporation of renewable materials and embraces plant life while providing a wide variety of recreational and educational amenities.

NYC playground program:The Trust for Public Land

MKM is a founding partner of the NYC Playground program, and beginning in 1997 has worked with the Trust for Public Land, the Mayor’s Office of Construction, and the NYCPD to develop this innovative program. Since that time MKM has designed more than 50 neighborhood playgrounds with the TPL. The mission of the program is to develop new community playgrounds for schools and neighborhoods under-served by existing parks. The program features a 10-week Participatory Design Process involving the students, teachers, PTA and Community Groups. Key components of sustainable design provide the basis for our development of these projects. We address sustainability, promote water efficiency, reuse and incorporate renewable materials and embrace plant life while providing a wide variety of recreational and educational amenities.

Students participating in the design process.

Student participating with planting her schoolyard.

Playstructure at PS 47X

PS 87X

PS 78X

PS 176K

Parks & Playgrounds

MKM is committed to developing accessible and beautiful open spaces for both active and passive recreation that facilitate the health and well-being of site users. We have been a leader in converting asphalt lots to verdant playgrounds, and have uniformly applied LID principles to minimize construction and maintenance costs that in turn foster neighborhood stewardship. MKM was the first NYC firm to incorporate porous pavers in high-use recreational settings, a standard now embraced by several New York City agencies.

Hippo Playground

This playground in Riverside Park, Manhattan features spray play hippopotamus sculptures. The playgroundwas noted as an “Oldie but Goodie” playground by New York Magazine in the summer of 2010.

Hippo Playground

“Hanging in this playground is practically a rite of passage for Upper West Side kids.... The namesake pachyderms add a little whimsy to the space, offering a creative spot to climb in any season or cool down with in the summer—thanks to the gentle spray flowing from them.”